Whoa!mance

Well Whoa!mantics, we made it one more time around. We asked, and you graciously sent us your favorite titles and titillations. And in exchange for the DMs, we stitched them up into something nice we can all sprawl out and get crumbs on. This week on Whoa!mance, Morgan and Isabeau reflect on their arc of years behind the mic, wax poetic with the luxury of hindsight, and share which books still smoke and linger. A special thanks to all those who sent in recordings, and to all y’all for the continued support. It’s been a real cool time. Now go put on something comfy: we've got some lounging to do.Whoa!mance is a part of the Frolic Podcast Network. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Out of sight, out of mind - until he comes riding in with a full entourage. This week, our heroine’s affections hit a fever pitch, Blanche Ingram leaves Jane looking pale, and Rochester can barely keep his hands to himself. So much for a healthy work/life balance.Whoa!mance is a part of the Frolic Podcast Network. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When we last left our heroine, Jane was feeling rattled by a late night immolation. This week, Jane finds her employer has flown the coop, Mrs. Fairfax waxes poetic about some biddy named Blanche Ingram, and our lowly governess laments her self-supposed tepid appearance. A dark night of the soul indeed.Whoa!mance is a part of the Frolic Podcast Network. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Studies show that staying put is the number one cause of FOMO among freewheelers and ramblers. But the long term health benefits of deep roots and steady love are often, criminally, underreported. This week on Whoa!mance, Morgan and Isabeau clear their spit valves to hit the high notes with a selection from Decades: A Journey of African American Romance, in Sheryl Lister’s Love’s Serenade. Set primarily in Harlem in the 1920’s, Leigh Jones, our heroine, escapes the American South and an arranged marriage after being spurred by Miles Cooper, our reluctant hero and aspiring jazz great, to pursue a life of independence. Immersed in the cultural heights of the Harlem Renaissance, Leigh and Miles navigate their new found freedom and pen their own tunes in the stolen moments of a white-supremacist society. How does the present inform our depictions of the past? How does Romancelandia reward and reinforce white readership? How much historical detail is too much? Bust out your Victrola y'all because this one’s going

Did you miss us? To celebrate the return of Whoa!mance’s Jane Eyre Public Access Read Along, Morgan and Isabeau are joined by author Rose Lerner to discuss the first 15 chapters of Jane Eyre, the life and work of Charlotte Bronte, and Rose's new book, The Wife in the Attic, available February 9th from Audible. Tune in for a spirited conversation of all things Jane, and be warned y’all: spoilers abound.Check out Rose’s work at www.roselerner.comTwitter: @RoseLernerIG: rose.lernerWhoa!mance is a part of the Frolic Podcast Network Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We are excited to return to The North and revisit our episode on Bear by Marian Engel. Be sure to check out the rest of our back catalog!Did you miss us? We were taking a brief sabbatical in the north woods of Ontario when we stumbled upon a seductive stranger. Full in form and stature, an imposing specimen really, with many *ahem* physical attributes that left us feeling replete in both mind and body. The richness of his fur alone… hair, hair of coarse. Course. Dammit. His name? Yes yes, well we didn’t quite get that far. You know how throes of passion go, so lacking in formality. And with all that solitude to penetrate. Oh Bear. Dear! We need a swim to clear our heads. This one is for our neighbors to the north, and all your enticing wildlife.ALSO - Send us your listener submissions so we can include your lovely thoughts and voices in our 3 year anniversary episode! Slide into our DMs or send us an email at whoamancemail@gmail.com - .mp3 or .wav files are preferable, but as long as it’s playabl

ONE. HUNDRED. EPISODES. Can you believe it Whoa!mantics? When we started out we had two shitty microphones and a Mac desktop cobbled together from two different Mac desktops. Now, three years and 100 episodes later, we have slightly better shitty microphones, and that same computer is still chugging along like goddamn Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. But more importantly y’all, we couldn’t have done it without you and your continued support. This week on Whoa!mance, Morgan and Isabeau are joined by producer Nick to reflect on the book that started it all, A Week To Be Wicked by Tessa Dare. What have we learned? What have we become? And what the fuck is up with this ending (seriously though, WTF is with this ending)? Tune in as we cover old ground with fresh eyes. I’m not crying, you’re crying.ALSO - Send us your listener submissions so we can include your lovely thoughts and voices in our 3 year anniversary episode! Slide into our DMs or send us an email at whoamancemail@gmail.com - .mp3 or .wav files are preferable,

This week yr grls had the supreme pleasure of meeting up with @Shelflove to discuss Strange Love by Ann Aguirre. A mistaken identity trope leads to an alien abduction of a human Earth woman. Admitted she doesn't have a ton going on so why not compete in a Hunger Games style version of intergalactic Bachelor? It sounds crazy on paper but this romance is a thought piece on difference and accommodation. Buckle up for a space odyssey of love.Whoa!mance is a part of the Frolic Podcast Network. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Believe it or not y’all, yr girls Morgan and Isabeau have been behind the mic for 3 whole years. But now we want to hear from you! We are asking you, dear listeners, to send us brief recordings of yourselves that we will weave into a patchwork quilt of Whoa!s to keep us all wrapped and warm in this ever-encroaching winter of our collective discontent. What romance novel continues to hit that special spot only a true Whoa! can titillate? What’s your favorite Whoa!? Your most problematic Whoa!? A criminally underrated Whoa!? A Whoa! that doesn’t get the love that it, that we all, deserve? Whether your chosen median is a voice memo, a laptop microphone, or two cans held fast by string - as long as that recording can make its way to our inbox, we’ll make sure to include it. Please send all submissions to Whoamancemail@gmail.com in either .mp3 or .wav format post haste, and we’ll get stitching!Whoa!mance is a part of the Frolic Podcast Network. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With intimacies on the table, Mr. Rochester has some explaining to do. This week, Adele’s origin story is laid bare, Jane suffers emotional anguish at the thought of losing her employer to greener pastures, and who knew bed curtains were so flammable? Stay safe and sleep tight y’all.Whoa!mance is a part of the Frolic Podcast Network. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s a New Year Whoa!mantics, but early forecasts are projecting the same holocaust of emotions. This week on Whoa!mance, Morgan and Isabeau cut through the red tape in A Lady’s Guide to Mischief and Mayhem by Manda Collins. When our heroine Lady Katherine Bascomb hastily publishes overlooked evidence to a recent murder case in her newspaper, Detective Inspector Andrew Eversham becomes seriously butthurt. But when Katherine finds herself at a house party turned crime scene, Katherine and Andrew must put aside their differences before the killer strikes again. What happens when Romance tries on the tropes of True Crime? Why is every example of a good cop usually a fictional character? Who actually keeps us safe? This one’s for all the out of work editors out there - we need you now more than ever.Whoa!mance is a part of the Frolic Podcast Network. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What’s not to like about postprandial levity? This week, Mr. Rochester lets the wine do the talking, Jane plays it cool in the face of lustful advances, and Thornfield Hall proves it could do with an HR department.Whoa!mance is a part of the Frolic Podcast Network. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mr. Rochester has come to Thornfield Hall, and the shift in energy is palpable. This week, our heroine is fully vetted by her new employer, Jane gets to show off some of her moody artwork, and Mrs. Fairfax sheds new light on Mr. Rochester’s treacherous family history.Whoa!mance is a part of the Frolic Podcast Network. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We know the solstice is the real holiday y’all are out here getting wild for, but like any bird of prey, the Christmas-Industrial-Complex must be fed. This week on Whoa!mance, Morgan and Isabeau take aim at propriety with Cecilia Grant’s Blackshear Family novella, A Christmas Gone Perfectly Wrong. When the uptight and proper Andrew Blackshear ventured to buy a falcon for his sister’s impending marriage, the last thing he expected was to himself become the hunted. Our heroine and daughter of the falconer, Lucy Sharp, is anything but conventional; and when a carriage ride from Andrew results in calamity, they must assume the role of happily married, in order to share a bed in the home of some acquaintances below their station. But as passion creeps into Andrew’s waking life, the couple must decide between ardent love and social customs. What’s your preferred mode of hunting? Does convention handcuff progress? And does dry humping ever really solve anything? While we hope y’all are forever grabbing life by the s

As routine takes hold at Thornfield Hall, Jane is getting restless. This week, our heroine journeys to post a letter, comes to the aid of an off-putting and unhandsome traveler, and finally puts a face to the swirling mystery of her employer. First time readers beware - spoilers abound in this chapter. Skip 28:10 - 33:17 to avoid spoiling more than the HEA.Whoa!mance is a part of the Frolic Podcast Network. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jane’s ad got a bite. This week, our heroine makes the acquaintance of her suspected employer, Mrs. Fairfax; Jane takes on the education of one Adèle Varens; and what’s the deal with Thornfield Hall?Whoa!mance is a part of the Frolic Podcast Network. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Holidays are hitting different this year, what with all the plague, but we at Whoa!mance are pledging to keep our Christmas humor to the last. This week on Whoa!mance, Morgan and Isabeau shack up with this festive friends-to-lovers novella, One Bed for Christmas by Jackie Lau. Our hero, Wes Chang, a freelance artist and barbershop quartet mascot, is thrown by fate or meteorological happenstance into close proximity with his college friend, long time crush, and successful dating app CEO, Caitlin Ng, when a sudden snow storm leaves her stranded in Wes' modest working person’s apartment. What began as a convenience of warmth blossoms into a confirmation of long held desires, as Wes and Caitin are imbued with the magic of both holidays and snow days. Does capitalism prevent us from keeping the holiday spirit alive year round? Does the kaleidoscopic nature of Christmas belie a dragon chase of toxic nostalgia? Is the “one bed” a metaphor for our singular planet hurtling toward climate destruction, leaving us to gra

Who knew bungling a health crisis could lead to a change in leadership? This week, conditions at Lowood improve when Mr. Brocklehurst files for unemployment, eight years fall away like a cartoon calendar, and our heroine has an epiphany about the classified ads.Whoa!mance is a part of the Frolic Podcast Network. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This chapter hits way different during a global pandemic y’all. This week, spring brings typhus to Lowood, Jane, in good health, is free to wander the grounds, and the harsh reality of Helen’s health comes into sharp focus. Whoa!mance is a part of the Frolic Podcast Network. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Did you ever watch those Geico caveman commercials and think, “I bet that hoss can really lay some club?” This week on Whoa!mance, Morgan and Isabeau plow for answers in Transcendence, a prehistoric romp by Shay Savage. It opens with our heroine and unaccompanied minor, Beth, traveling tesseract-style through millennia to arrive in the welcoming and paternally minded arms of our hero, a Homo savage known only by the guttural proclamation of, “Ehd”. Beth, similarly truncated to just “Beh” for the ease of her new partner, must navigate a preverbal relationship, find footing in a vastly undeveloped world, and acquiesce to a blossoming love affair that only the threat of death can provide. Where would you journey to in a personal time machine? Does Beth being 15 make it weird? When you picture a prehistoric man, what do you see, and why is it a tan Brendan Fraiser? Tune in for questions and commentary guaranteed to make your bed rock.Whoa!mance is a part of the Frolic Podcast Network. Hosted on Acast. See acast.c